The Top Ten Incentives for Working in Hospitality

1. Interactive, Fast Paced Environment

The world of hospitality requires frequent interactions with clients and colleagues. Whether answering phone calls, greeting people at the front desk, or meeting one on one with clients to ensure quality control, hospitality necessitates people skills and conversation. Because you are constantly interacting with others, your day will move rapidly and you will rarely be bored. Because of the fast-paced nature of this line of work, hospitality workers have a wealth of marketable skills.

2. You Make Your Customer’s Day

Constant interaction with customers also means that you are the one responsible for helping people out and resolving problems. From simple to complicated questions or requests, hospitality jobs put you in charge of addressing a client’s needs and providing solutions. Meeting customer needs can easily put a smile on their faces as well as make you feel appreciated for your hard work and dedication.

3. It Inspires Creativity and Innovation

In addition to requiring interpersonal skills, hospitality jobs allow for individuals to exercise their creativity. Employees work to create, sustain, and represent a product or brand. Whether working in a restaurant, hotel, or bed and breakfast, employees can always find ways to exercise creativity when interacting with customers and even proposing new ideas to management.

4. It Opens Doors to Worldliness and Travel

Because the hospitality industry offers services to diverse clientele and often tourists from varying walks of life, it is likely that you will get to know people from all over the world. In addition to meeting people at your immediate workplace, hotel and restaurant chains often offer opportunities to network and travel. Hospitality workers, especially those working for international hotel and restaurant chains, may find that they are invited to attend conferences and conventions both locally and internationally.

5. Specified Educational Programs and Training

One of the benefits of the hospitality industry is the availability of educational programs and hospitality courses for specific jobs. From hotel and restaurant management to travel and tourism courses, undergraduate programs in hospitality prepare workers to transition readily into the work environment. Many of these programs require multiple internships in your field of interest, providing access to valuable hands-on experience to prepare you for your future career.

6. Early Advancement, Promotions, Tips and Bonuses

Because hospitality jobs require specific education and training, opportunities for advancement once gaining experience are readily available. What’s more, many starter positions in hotels and restaurants encourage clients to tip staff, boosting income. It is very easy to transition into managerial and supervisory positions. Furthering your education and pursuing an advanced degree in hospitality or business management can also increase your opportunities for promotions and salary increases.

7. Flexible Scheduling

If the idea of working from nine to five day-in and day-out is not appealing to you, the hospitality industry offers diversity and flexibility in scheduling. You may be able to alter your schedule to work nights and weekends and schedule days off in between shifts while still maintaining a full-time job with benefits.

8. Entertainment, Dining, Lodging Perks

Working in hospitality can often offer discounts and rate reductions as a benefit of employment, which can be especially useful for personal vacations. This could mean receiving free or reduced rates at hotels and free meals at restaurants when dining or lodging with your company or even its partners.

9. Great Colleagues and Working Environment

The hospitality industry only seeks polite, courteous, and friendly staff to deliver services. As such, your colleagues and supervisors are likely to have great attitudes and interpersonal skills. Surveys of employees from other fields who are often stressed out or who dislike their jobs reveal that conflicts and negativity among coworkers is a leading factor to their unhappiness. Nevertheless, in the hospitality industry, you are guaranteed to be surrounded by positive demeanors and support from your colleagues and supervisors.

10. Stable, Transferable Employment

One of the benefits of hospitality jobs are the transferability of skills from one place to another. If you end up relocating and having to quit your current position, it is much easier to find a transfer position, especially if you work for a chain restaurant or hotel. Likewise, there is always a market for positions in hospitality if you are looking for a change of pace and another employer. The skills you acquire in your previous position will be readily adaptable to your new job.